Once Upon A Time
by lovelyslickyvixen
Summary: A self-made tale of Kimbley, the Crimson Alchemist, during the Ishval war. A bit too long to be a one-shot so i broke them into two. 2nd chapter is up. COMPLETED! R&R. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA. T.T**

The sand storm was heavier than usual, making it hard for the military to continue their mission in Ishval. The garment the soldiers had on did nothing to help them from getting sand into their eyes and mouth.

Some were glad as the terrible condition will give them an excuse to stop the manslaughter temporarily. They were sick of it. Sick of taking the lives of the innocent Ishvalans. Quietly, some of the soldiers prayed that the Ishvalian will make good use of this opportunity and make an escape before the war begins.

However, one soldier just could not get enough of it. One man simply finds it entertaining to see the fear in the eyes of the Ishvalan before he blast them to death. A crazy man.

The Crimson Alchemist, Zolf J. Kimbley.

Amidst the sandstorm, he wondered around Ishval to look for his next victim. His path was free of any human being.

'What a boring day,' he thought.

Just as he was about to turn around and head back to the camp for lunch, he caught glance of something moving inside of a half destroyed house. A smile crept on Kimbley's face.

He paced towards the figure. He could tell that the person was shaking in fear.

"Good day to you, sir." Kimbley said, still grinning, "I believe it i\was fated that we are going to meet today."

The person did not say anything in reply.

"Oh, don't be scared," He chuckled. "I'm just trying to find some entertainment for myself."

There was still no response from his victim. No cry for sympathy or attempts to escape.

"Go on and scream for help a little. You don't wanna just crawl there like a rock. If you beg to me, I might be kind enough to let you escape the torture and have a fast, painless death." The Crimson Alchemist said, hoping for a response.

Kimbley stared at the person clad in a dark blue self-knitted fabric.

"Well, if you are not gonna do anything," Kimbley, who was getting annoyed, harshly pulled away the cover, "Then at least let me look at your little sorry face as I.."

Silence. The cruel Crimson Alchemist found himself at a loss of words as he looked down on his victim. He did not know what exactly was he feeling or thinking as he watch the poor Ishvalan crying in fear.

'What's going on? What the fuck is wrong with me?!' he cursed himself.

The red eyes confirmed that his victim was an Ishavalan, though her skin is fair. Not that it would matter to Kimbley even if she was not an Ishvalan. He just loves to kill. But there was something about her which caused him to hesitate about his action.

'Snap out of it! Just get this done and over with!' the cold-blooded alchemist commanded himself.

"Any last word?" Kimbley asked.

The lady kept quiet but her hand trailed into her pocket and pulled out a little sack. "Please," she said "Give this to my brother. He needs them."

Kimbley stared at the young lady. He sighed. "But don't you think I'll kill him if I ever go and meet him?"

The victim lowered her head. "But he is just a little boy.." her voice trailed off.

"That does not matter to me. I'll kill anyone, anywhere at anytime. I'm not like the other fella in the military who has sympathy. I guess that's why they call me the cold-blooded Crimson Alchemist."

Hearing her prey's name caused the victim's eyes to widen. She has heard of him. He was the person who killed her neighbour and her cousins. She was scared but she knew she was not capable of fighting back. She felt hopeless.

The sight of the petite young lady being in fear did not seem to please Kimbley the way other fear-stricken faces do. He cursed himself as he turned around and took a few steps away from his victim. "I'll let you go on one condition."

The young lady was surprised. She heard a lot about him. So many dreadful things but none says anything positive about him. However, she knew that she could not feel safe yet. One condition coming from his mouth could be something that will cause her a lifetime of torment. She was almost sure of it. Her prey was, after all, the notorious Crimson Alchemist.

"I'll let you go," He stopped for a bit before continuing his sentence. "But tomorrow morning, at dawn, you must come and meet me here. And do not bring anyone with you." He turned back around to look at the lady.

The lady did not question his request. It was good enough for her. At least her little brother would not be involved in it. She nodded.

"I'm getting very hungry so you can go now."

His victim looked a bit startled.

"I mean it. You betta hurry up and get going before I change my mind."

The lady quickly got up.

"Wait just another second." Kimbley suddenly spoke, causing the lady to freeze on her trail. "For identification purpose," He said, "Do tell me your name?"

"Isabel." She said with a low voice before quickly making her way back to her camp.

**I think I should stop here. I will continue the second part soon.**

**Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it.**

**Comments and critiques are highly appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA.**

Isabel hesitated about her action. She knew it was not wise to meet up with the cold-blooded Crimson Alchemist. But she was afraid that if she went back on her words, he might involve other people into it.

Slowly she made her way out of the camp. It was dark. She prayed that no one saw her. She left some food and money for her little brother as there are possibilities that she might not make it back. At least not alive, she thought. She quickened her pace towards the meeting place.

A guy with a long ponytail was sitting there in the dark, holding a small candle.

"I'm sorry for being late," Isabel said, not making any eye contact with Kimbley.

"Actually, you are early," He looked at his State Alchemist pocket watch to check the time. "I left early coz I couldn't stand looking at the faces of the guys back at camp. Their pathetic looking faces. Those nasty hypocrites."

Isabel did not say anything in reply.

"So, did you go and meet that lil' brother of yours?"

Isabel nodded.

Kimbley scratched his head. He did not know what else to say and he was, believe it or not, nervous. He cleared his throat, "So what do you usually do during this time of the day?"

Isabel looked weirded-out by the question. "Sleeping."

"Oh, yes. It's early." Kimbley said as he put on a silly grin. "And, what do you usually do after you wake up? What is the activity that you do first thing in the morning? You know, like us in the Military, we have to wake up early for the briefing and all those boring stuff and.."

"Pray."

"Huh?"

"We will gather up at the head priest house for a prayer."

"Oh, yeah." Kimbley said, "You Ishvalan really has a thing for all these worshipping thing right? So what do you guys really ask for from the person you worship? You guys call it your good, am I right?"

Isabel nodded and went quiet for a few seconds. "We asked the Almighty for this war to stop soon."

"But seems to me like that fella isn't listening to your prayer." He said only to regret it after seeing the hurt expression on Isabel's face. He really did not intent on hurting her.

"He's testing us," She answered. "These are all tests to see whether we really have faith in him."

"Seem's to me like all these prayer are done simply to put your troubled mind at ease. It's just another form of meditation." He blurted out without thinking, again. "But I may be wrong. Coz you see, I could be biased since I don't believe in one. Like that Almighty one of yours."

Isabel stole a glance at Kimbley and it did not go unnoticed. Kimbley smiled at her and got up. He brushed away the dirt from the back as his pants.

"I gotta go," Kimbley said. "You should too, before anyone notice that you are missing for your prayer." He said with a smirk on his face.

Isabel nodded.

"Same place tomorrow?"

Isabel looked up at him.

"You are a very interesting person to chat up with," Kimbley said. "Same place, same time tomorrow, if you don't mind that is."

She nodded. "Tomorrow."

They both walked away from the meeting spot and came back after twenty-four hours. It was a secret rendezvous which went on for days until an unfortunate day arrive.

"She's the culprit! I saw her talking to one of the alchemist!"

"I saw her too! She was sneaking out early every morning to meet the Crimson Alchemist, who killed her cousins Arina and Serina. She's a traitor!"

"She's selling us out to the military!"

"She has gone against the words of God!"

Accusations after accusations showered Isabel. She defended herself but it was off to no avail. Isabel was captured and was to be killed but was saved when the head priest stopped the angry mob. He said that the God forbid human from killing one another. The word about her capture reached Kimbley who quickly make his way to the little camp set up by the Ishvalan. He saw a huge fire going on as he run towards the camp.

'Must be Mustang's doing,' he thought.

Kimbley quickened his step towards the camp. Once he arrived, he saw Isabel being tied to a pole and surrounded by dried leaves and sticks that was on fire.

"Hold on!" Kimbley said to Isabel. He could see glimpse of tears rolling down her cheeks. He felt a strong urge telling him to save her.

He grabbed a rug nearby and attempted to stop the fire but the fire was growing bigger. He coughed due to the thick smoke emitted. No one helped him. They just stood still and watched in awe.

"Someone get some water!" He shouted but earned no response. No one wanted to be anywhere close to the notorious Crimson Alchemist. "Do something! She's one of you, isn't she?!" He yelled at the crowd.

Kimbley gave up on his attempt to stop the fire and ran through the fire. He cut the rope tying Isabel to the pole and quickly carried her out of the fire. He laid her lifeless body on the ground. His eyes locked on her numb face. He felt angry, mad and moreover..wretched. With his eyes still locked on Isabel, he straightened up. The crowd was frantically whispering.

"I will never forgive you," Kimbley said with a low voice, "I WILL NEVER FORGIVE ALL OF YOU!!"

Back at the military camp, everyone's eye was on the Crimson Alchemist who was making his way towards the rest area after disappearing since early morning. He had a smile on his face. A satisfied smile paired with miserable looking eyes.

**That's it.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**THE END.**


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